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双一の楽しい日記
6
1
Finished
Jul 1991 to Apr 1993
7.3/10
Average Review Score
100%
Recommend It
3
Reviews Worldwide
This manga collection take the same formula as the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd manga which is a continuous story in one volume. In here we follow a boy named Souichi who may or may not have a supranatural power. Its fun to see the story unfold and guess if the stuff happening is really because ghost or not. The horror aspect isn't that big because they're more focusing to building the characters. I mean the author need to somehow make a good characters just in the span of 6 chapters. And the result is... not that good. For me personally, I kind of dislike thiskind of story telling because I didn't expect a continuous story like this. And not to mention almost every characters is just one dimensional. They don't show their personality often and that lead to some boring dialogue interaction between characters. But that is the narrative aspect. The art aspect in this manga is gorgeous. I still love the artsyle and the vibe they bring in to make a good panel. Some of my friends now says manga is boring because it's in white and black. But for me, because of that same reason this manga is famous. If it's full colored or anything like that, I don't think this can be as popular as it is now.
In the summer, siblings Michina and Yuusuke Hirose visit their distant relatives in the countryside. Though they have not met in years, they quickly find that they are in for a relaxing vacation: they get along well with their cousins Kouchi and Sayuri Tsujii, there is a pool within walking distance, and the scenery is ever refreshing. There is just one blight upon this otherwise lovely trip: Souichi Tsujii, the bratty third Tsujii child and black sheep of the family. Nail-sucking, occult-loving, and utterly mischievous, Souichi's idea of amusement is anything that makes others squirm. Whether it is throwing curses on his cousins, bewitching his classmates, or replacing his teachers with living dolls, Souichi finds all kinds of ways to ruin the fun that he is left out of. But even with his own mystical powers, his havoc never lasts too long: for when Souichi causes trouble, it always comes back his way. [Written by MAL Rewrite]
This volume was a brief departure from the one-shots present in the preceding volumes. Instead, there was a constant cast of characters, with each story revolving around the occult-themed antics of Souichi, a troubled boy. Story, 7: The stories were sorted in chronological order, and though they were mostly self-contained, there was definitely a passage of time. Most of them involved voodoo or other occult themes (curses, premonitions, etc.), which was good for establishing a creepy feeling without being overtly supernatural (aside from the middle chapters). Art, 7: Given the more subdued nature of the stories, there weren't as many chances for Ito's artistry to shine.The characters were well-drawn, but there weren't any grotesquely beautiful images from the previous volumes. Characters, 7: The big strength of this particular volume was the development of the cast, namely Michina (the young female protagonist for most of the stories). Every character felt unique and was characterized enough that they didn't seem to just be archetypes. Souichi had some interesting development in the later chapters, though the reasons/results of some of his actions were still unclear to me by the end of the volume. Enjoyment, 7: It was a good read. This volume reminded me a bit of Tomie (one of Ito Junji's earlier works), where a recurring antagonist appears to torment the chapter's protagonist(s) (in this case, the protagonists were mostly the same throughout the volume). Overall, 7: Aside from some brief transgressions in the middle chapters, the volume did a great job at establishing an eerie atmosphere without being over-the-top. The middle chapters were a bit too blatant with their supernatural elements (which weren't in the other chapters), but the volume as a whole was an entertaining read. I'd recommend it if you're a fan of Ito or simply want a quick and self-contained horror read. Favorite Chapter: "Souichi's Birthday"; Least Favorite: "Souichi's Home Tutor"
Well, it's becoming increasingly obvious that I'm reading the Ito collection completely out of order but I am not to be stopped. This is more of the same as Souichi's Diary Of Curses, what I said about that book also applies here. I will add that I'm amazed at how much free reign Souichi's parents give him. They're incredibly fine with his interests and lifestyle, like, I wish my parents were like that. Kid is out there spitting nails and going into the woods at night to play with voodoo dolls and they literally don't care and treat him just as well as his siblings. Anotherhilarious detail is how at one point the teacher gets replaced by a very obvious doll and everyone just.... doesn't give a shit? "Don't you think the teacher looks kinda like a doll?" "That's silly! Anyway...." I honestly rate these as comedies more so than horror stories because of how nonchalant everyone is in regard to the chaos going on.